SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN

Rosewill's new mechanical illuminated RK-9100BR, the latest in the RK-9000 series of gaming keyboards, is a beautiful hunk of plastic. It's the kind of accessory that makes you "ooh" and "ahh" when it's finally plugged in and ready to go.

Manufacturer: RosewillAvailable: NowPrice: $119.99

But after using it on and off for over a week, I have to wonder: what actually makes it a gaming keyboard? It lacks some features that ones from Razer and Logitech have, like dedicated macro keys and other bells and whistles.

But those cherry switch keys are as great for gaming as they are for anything else, and the RK-9100 can even be configured so that only the WASD and arrow keys are lit up. Still, the latest from Rosewill isn't a dedicated gaming keyboard. Instead, it's something in between, and that makes it extremely versatile.